2) Carey Price: He was a bit off in Boston aside from a strong second
period but he did give the Habs a good chance to win in the blankings from
Buffalo and Washington.
(Previous: 3  Average:
2.67)

3) James Wisniewski: In Minnesota, his offensive game was there but by
the end of the week, he had basically become the top checking defenceman.
(Previous: 2  Average:
6.92)

4) Alex Auld: He had his second straight strong effort against the Wild
that also saw him pick up his first point as a Hab.  In Boston, he wasn’t
as sharp but the same could be said for basically every other player.
(Previous: 6  Average:
8.91)

5) Ryan White: His game in Minnesota showed flashes of his offensive
potential, something we hadn’t seen all year from him.  In the other games,
at least the usual physical game was there.
(Previous: 14  Average:
15.63)

6) Travis Moen: He was the lone consistent offensive threat all week,
getting at least a good chance or two in each game.  All of a sudden, the 3
game shutout streak makes a little more sense now.
(Previous: 9  Average:
14.71)

7) Andrei Kostitsyn: Scored what ultimately was the winning goal and for
the most part, was decent in the other games, mostly hustling at both ends of
the rink.
(Previous: 5  Average:
10.71)

8) David Desharnais: Played a terrific game in St. Paul but was a
complete non-factor at best in the other games.  Part of it may be fatigue
while the other part likely has to do with iffy offensive linemates.
(Previous: 4  Average:
9.45)

9) Paul Mara: Though his presence alone doesn’t make the defence corps
tough, he certainly brings a lot more grit to the back end which proved useful
in each contest.
(Previous: 12  Average:
11.50)

10) Brian Gionta: He seems to be shooting when he should be passing and
vice versa, one of the telling signs of a slump.  Even still, he still made
some good plays and was on the one line that actually generated offence the last
couple of games.
(Previous: 1  Average:
6.63)

11) Mathieu Darche: For someone who sat over a month with an injury, he
didn’t look too rusty in his return to the lineup.  Here’s hoping his
offensive timing comes back pretty quickly.
(Previous: N/A  Average:
13.70)

12) Tom Pyatt: He’s the offensive catalyst, I tell you.  Kidding
aside, the Habs have a losing record without him in the lineup and it’s
technically true, they haven’t scored since he was sat down.
(Previous: 19  Average:
16.91)

13) Roman Hamrlik: The effort is there, but he just looks completely dead
out there, even at the beginning of games.  Being moved with Sopel to cut
his minutes a bit should help a bit.
(Previous: 8  Average:
8.61)

14) Scott Gomez: The amount of grief he’s getting right now just isn’t
right.  In the last two games, he has been on the line generating most of
the offensive chances and even more of the counter-attack.  He can’t be
sent to Hamilton this season (he’s not on the Clear Day Roster and demotion
waivers have passed) so like him or not, he’s here for the rest of the year. 
He deserves some blame for the current slump, but certainly it shouldn’t stop at
him either; he’s not the only reason this team is struggling, he’s just
the only player getting blamed which isn’t right.
(Previous: 13  Average:
10.46)

15) Lars Eller: It was one of the more quiet weeks in recent memory for
him.  He still had a few chances, but he wasn’t as big of an impact player
as we’ve come to expect recently.
(Previous: 10  Average:
13.04)

16) Benoit Pouliot: He had 3 assists playing in Minnesota for the
first time since the trade.  After that though, he went right back into the
funk that has plagued him for weeks now.
(Previous: 23  Average:
11.83)

17) Brent Sopel: I thought all in all he played somewhat decent but that
giveaway late in the Washington game really stung, dropping his rating a bit.
(Previous: N/A  Average:
17.50)

18) Hal Gill: He was hardly noticeable out there.  In times where
only the opposition is scoring, that’s probably not a good thing most of the
time.
(Previous: 18  Average:
14.83)

19) Tomas Plekanec: There were more than a few who were surprised to see
him come back as early as he did vs Boston.  Given how he did, perhaps he
should’ve waited a little longer.
(Previous: 15  Average:
6.13)

20) Mike Cammalleri: For all the grief Gomez takes, I’m surprised more
hasn’t fallen his way.  Heck, you can’t even use the ‘playing through
injury’ excuse, both can use that one.  I remain cautiously optimistic with
him though as he went through a similar spell around this time last year and we
all know how he was in the playoffs.
(Previous: 11  Average:
8.27)

21) Jeff Halpern: When he’s not being utilized properly on the draw as
noted in Saturday’s
3 Stars,
he really isn’t particularly effective anywhere else.
(Previous: 20  Average:
11.96)

22) Aaron Palushaj: He might very well have the best case to argue if a
forward has to be recalled from Hamilton: Since he was sent down, they haven’t
scored a goal.
(Previous: 16  Average:
19.00)

23) Alexandre Picard: As has often plagued him this year, the more he
plays, the worse he does.  As others get healthy, he’s going to have a hard
time getting back in the lineup.
(Previous: 21  Average:
16.74)

24) Nigel Dawes: He has an offensive touch as evidenced by his AHL
success.  However, he never seemed to be in a position where he could do
much of anything offensively while he was up, which really limited his
effectiveness.
(Previous: 17  Average:
20.50)